China knows everything for 5000 years

Chapter 9

Chong'er and his party went into exile successively to Cao, Song, Zheng and other countries, and finally came to Chu State.King Cheng of Chu valued Chonger very much, and received him with the etiquette he would treat princes.Later, Qin Mugong sent someone to pick up Chonger. Chonger decided to go to Qin State. King Cheng saw him off and gave him many things.

In 636 BC, Duke Hui of Jin passed away.Qin Mugong sent troops to escort Chonger back to the country. Chonger, who had been in exile for 19 years and was 62 years old, returned to the motherland and became a monarch, as Duke Wen of Jin.

●Jin Wengong, overlord of the Central Plains
Jin was relatively weak in the early Spring and Autumn Period. Its territory only included the present-day southern Jin and the Fen and Qi River basins, with its capital in Yi (now Jicheng, Shanxi).At the time of Xian Gong, Jin destroyed the three small countries of Geng (in present-day Shanxi), Huo (in present-day Shanxi), and Wei (in present-day Shanxi), and then destroyed the two countries of Maung and Yu. The territory of Jin extended from the north bank of the Yellow River to beyond the Yellow River. South.Duke Xian died, and civil strife broke out among the sons due to competition for the throne.The incompetent Duke Hui and Duke Huai reigned successively, so they were always under the control of Qin.Jin has been in a state of turmoil for a long time.

In 636 BC, Chong'er returned to China with the help of Qin to succeed him as the famous Duke Wen of Jin.He prepared for "adversities and difficulties", worked hard after ascending the throne, appointed talented Zhao Shuai, Hu Yan and others, and paid attention to the development of agriculture and handicraft production.After a year of development, Jin Wengong, who had just ascended the throne, began his great cause of describing the Central Plains.At that time, within Jin, Duke Hui of Jin's incompetence made the state of Jin, a big country, unknown, and the succession of the new king immediately aroused the hope of the people of Jin, and the whole country was united as never before; outside of Jin, the hegemony of Duke Huan of Qi had ended, The emperor was led by the prince and forced to go to other places, and the dragons in the world had no leader, and the disputes increased sharply, while the Di people and the state of Chu took the opportunity to harass and plot the Central Plains.This is similar to before Duke Huan of Qi took over the hegemony, and the countries in the Central Plains were faced with who would complete the mission of "respecting the king and fighting the barbarians".At this time, the state of Jin took the lead in resolving the political conflicts of the royal family, killed Prince Dai, and allowed King Zhou Xiang to restore the country, completing the task of "respecting the king".

In 634 BC, in order to become the overlord, Qi Xiaogong provoked a war among the countries in the Central Plains.Chu State took the opportunity to intervene and led other countries to attack Qi State and its ally Song State.Seeing that the state of Song couldn't support it anymore, it had to ask the state of Jin for help.At this time, the state of Jin reformed the establishment of the army, and was trying to find a decent reason to enter the Central Plains.So in 632 BC, Duke Wen of Jin united Qi and Qin to save Song, determined to compete with Chu for hegemony in the Central Plains.Jin Wengong adopted the policy of luring the enemy deep, concentrating his forces, and defeating each one, so that the Jin army "retreats three houses" and occupies a favorable position.Subsequently, Jin defeated the Chu army.This is the famous "Battle of Chengpu" in history.

After the war, Jin Wengong and the monarchs of Qi, Lu, Song, Wei and other seven countries formed an alliance in Jiantu (in present-day Henan), and received the order of King Zhou.In the winter of this year, the princes of Jin met again in Wen (in present-day Henan), and the king of Zhou was also called to the meeting. Duke Wen of Jin succeeded Duke Huan of Qi as the overlord of the Central Plains.

●War in Chengpu and stay away

Two years later, after Jin Wen'an settled the Zhou royal family, Song Chenggong, the son of Song Xianggong, came to ask for help.Therefore, in the spring of 632 BC, Duke Wen of Jin expanded his army and established the upper, middle, and lower armies to save the Song State.

After conquering Cao State and Wei State, Jin Wengong thought that the Chu State would give up attacking Song Dynasty and came to rescue Cao and Wei States, but Chu State remained indifferent and still besieged Shangqiu, the capital of Song State.

King Cheng of Chu didn't want to go to war with the state of Jin at first, but when he heard that Duke Wen of Jin led the army to fight in person, he immediately ordered Cheng Dechen to retreat.Cheng Dechen was determined to win, and he refused to give up halfway. He believed that the Song Kingdom would be conquered sooner or later.Cheng Dechen first sent someone to notify the Jin army and asked them to release the monarchs of Cao and Wei.Duke Wen of Jin decided to follow his plan and secretly told the monarchs of Cao and Wei that he promised to restore their status as monarchs, but they must first cut off all ties with Chu.The monarchs of Cao and Wei agreed.

Cheng Dechen originally wanted to save Cao and Wei, but unexpectedly they colluded with Jin and severed ties with Chu.He immediately mobilized the whole army to advance towards the Jin army.

As soon as the Chu army advanced, Jin Wengong immediately ordered the Jin army to retreat.The lieutenant soldiers were puzzled and asked why.Minister Hu Yan explained to everyone: "When Duke Wen went into exile, King Cheng of Chu helped him, and Duke Wen also promised in front of King Cheng of Chu that if the two countries of Jin and Chu were at war, the state of Jin would definitely 'retreat'. The retreat of ninety miles was to fulfill the promise made by Duke Wen at that time, and it was also regarded as a reward to King Cheng of Chu. If Duke Wen broke his promise, then we would be at a loss, and the morale of the Chu army would be boosted. Now our army is "retreating three houses", and the Chu army If they still press on and make progress, it will be their fault, and we will have the initiative and have sufficient reasons to fight them."

The Jin army withdrew to Chenghuai in the territory of Wei State in one breath, and set up camp here, and formed a formation.In April 632 BC, the Battle of Chengpu began.In the battle, the Jin army defeated the Chu army by surprise, and Cheng Dechen was able to break out of the encirclement under the desperate protection of several generals.Seeing that the Chu army was defeated, Jin Wengong ordered no more pursuit.When Cheng Dechen saw that he had only a few remnants and defeated generals left, he was heartbroken, felt ashamed to see King Chu Cheng again, and drew his sword to kill himself.

In the battle of Chengpu, the Jin army occupied the camp of Chu State, captured hundreds of Chu army chariots, more than a thousand soldiers, and a large amount of food and grass, which dealt a heavy blow to Chu State.

Duke Mu of Qin dominates Xirong
The State of Qin is located in the Wei River Basin, between Xirong and Beidi.King Zhou Xuan named Qin Zhong a doctor, and Qin Zhong died in the battle against Rong and Di; his son Zhuang Gong continued to attack Xi Rong, and was named "Xi Sleeping Doctor" by King Xuan of Zhou.After the fall of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Qin Xianggong was conferred the title of vassal because of his meritorious service in escorting King Ping to the east. He occupied a vast area centered on Qi and Feng, established his capital in Yuyong (now Fengxiang, Shaanxi), and his power gradually developed.After more than 100 years, Qin Mugong developed into a powerful slavery country
Qin Mugong’s hegemony benefited from making good use of talents, and he attracted many sages to assist him in political affairs. For example, the famous politician Baili Xi assisted Qin Mugong in reforming internal affairs and developing production, which made Qin State stronger.When Jin dominated, Qin also wanted to develop his power eastward.After the Battle of Die between Qin and Jin, Qin's expansion to the east was blocked by Jin.Therefore, Duke Mu of Qin adopted Yu's strategy of counselors and turned to develop westward.

Under Yu Yu's guidance, Qin State knew the mountains, rivers, geography, folk customs and customs of the Rong people like the back of their hands.As a result, Qin State began a large-scale conquest of the Rong people.In just one year, the Qin State wiped out twelve large tribes of the Rong people, expanded its territory for more than a thousand miles, and finally dominated the west.

●Flying into the sky, King Zhuang of Chu
While Duke Mu of Qin ruled over hegemony, the Chu State in the south rapidly developed its power and took the opportunity to wipe out some small neighboring countries.But after King Zhuang of Chu ascended the throne of the Chu Kingdom, he ignored the state affairs and only cared about hunting in the fields every day. When he returned to the palace, he would drink and have fun with the maids day and night.Three years passed like this.

One day, the doctor Wu Ju asked to see King Zhuang of Chu, and King Zhuang asked, "Are you here to drink and listen to music, or do you have something to say to me?" Wu Ju replied, "I don't drink or listen to music. I’m here to tell you a secret word to relieve your boredom.” Wu Ju said, “There is a big bird that hasn’t flown or moved for three years. Your Majesty, please guess what kind of bird it is.” Zhuang Gong pondered for a while and said, “I understand. , This is not an ordinary bird. If you don’t move for three years, you are deciding your ambition; if you don’t fly for three years, you are growing your wings. If it doesn’t fly, it will soar into the sky; What Wang meant, he backed out happily.

A few months later, King Zhuang of Chu was still the same.Doctor Su Cong went to remonstrate again.King Zhuang of Chu ordered the disbandment of the band and the dismissal of the dancers, and he was in charge every day.He killed hundreds of bad officials and appointed hundreds of sages, and the state of Chu became politically clear and powerful.

In 598 B.C., King Zhuang of Chu sent troops to conquer the state of Chen; the following year, he attacked the state of Zheng.Both Chen and Zheng were under the protection of Jin. Jin Jinggong took Xun Lin's father as his general and Xian Yi as his deputy, and led his troops to rescue Zheng.

After King Zhuang of Chu led his army to conquer the state of Zheng, he wanted to drink horses from the Yellow River and return to the court with his troops.Hearing the news that the Jin army was crossing the river, he also set up a fighting position.Ling Yin and Sun Shu'ao said to King Zhuang of Chu: "We might as well send people to negotiate a peace first. If the peace cannot be reached, it will not be too late to start a war. At that time, it will be the Jin State that will be wronged." King Zhuang adopted this suggestion and sent Cai Jiuju as an envoy to Jin. military.Xun Lin's father expressed his acceptance of the peace negotiation, but Xian Mi strongly opposed it.

Cai Jiuju returned to Chuying and reported the mission to King Zhuang.King Zhuang felt that he could take advantage of the conflicts between the generals of the Jin army, so he sent people to the Jin army again to negotiate a peace, and agreed on a date for the peace.At this time, Jin generals Wei Qi and Zhao Zhan asked to go to the Chu camp to negotiate. Xun Lin's father agreed, but they violated the military order and challenged Chu without authorization, but they were defeated by the Chu army.The Chu army chasing the two generals Wei and Zhao encountered the Jin army in the suburbs (now east of Zhengzhou, Henan).Xun Lin's father was not prepared to fight against the Chu army. Seeing the Chu army attacking from all sides, he panicked and ordered: "Whoever crosses the Yellow River first will be rewarded." Countless people drowned.

The Battle of Bi was a turning point for Chu State to dominate. After the war, the prestige of Chu State was greatly shaken, and many small countries attached to Chu State.King Zhuang of Chu, who had not flown for three years, finally soared into the sky and became the new overlord.

Sun Wu killed his concubine and trained female soldiers
During the reign of King Helu of Wu, in order to enable Wu to dominate the princes and recruit talents everywhere, Wu Zixu recommended Sun Wu, a native of Qi, to him.So the King of Wu hurriedly sent someone to look for this strange man.One day, Sun Wu, who lived in seclusion, was found in a dilapidated house.

When Sun Wu came to the capital, he presented his own "Sun Tzu's Art of War" to the king of Wu. This book deeply attracted the king of Wu.King Wu forgot to eat and sleep, and studied carefully for several days.After reading it, he happily said to the left and right ministers: "I have this book, how can there be no reason for hegemony?"

One day, King Wu suddenly said to Sun Wu: "Your art of war is indeed unprecedented, but I don't know how practical it is. Can you practice it on a small scale so that I can get a little perceptual understanding?" Sun Wu said: "I wrote it. Art of war is not something to be shelved, of course it can be used for military training.” The King of Wu then ordered 180 court ladies to be selected for military training.It turned out that King Wu regarded military training not only as a test of Sun Wu's military methods, but also as entertainment.These beauties are usually coquettish and coquettish, isn't it very interesting to watch them play with guns and sticks?
Sun Wu divided the 180 beauties into left and right teams. King Wu said, "Do you want to set up a captain for them?" Sun Wu nodded in agreement.King Wu ordered people to come to the palace, quickly called his two favorite concubines, and asked them to be captains.So, Sun Wu divided 10 people into a team, and one person stood by and beat the drum. When the drum rang, they would leave; when the drum stopped, they had to stop.

At the beginning of the training, Sun Wu shouted orders, one person beat the drums, and one team marched out, but the court ladies walked in a distorted manner, the court ladies laughed, and King Wu laughed so hard on the stage that he couldn't straighten up.Sun Wu yelled: "Stop!" But there were still many court ladies who couldn't stop, rubbing their tears from laughing.Sun Wu said: "To govern the army, you must abide by the military law. If the military law is not strict, the army will not be able to rule. I will give you three rules. If you don't obey the order again, you should be punished by beheading." Now the ladies stopped laughing.

Sun Wu gave the order to start again, the drums rang again, and couples of court ladies came out, all obeying Sun Wu's orders, only the two captains were smiling.Sun Wu said solemnly: "Listen to the order." Not only did the two concubines of King Wu not obey the order, but they even laughed out loud.Sun Wu ordered the two captains to be pushed out and beheaded.

When King Wu saw that he was going to kill his beloved concubine, he was shocked and hurried to Sun Wu to intercede, but Sun Wu was unmoved.King Wu could only watch helplessly as his two concubines were pushed out and beheaded.After beheading, Sun Wu said: "Whoever dares to violate the military order in the future will be punished accordingly."

Sun Wu ordered the leaders of the two teams to be the captains and continue to practice. When the maids saw that King Wu's concubine had turned into a ghost, they were all frightened, as if they had changed into another person.If the drum sounds to the left, they all go to the left; if the drum sounds to the right, they all go to the right.No matter how the drum sounded, the palace ladies either advanced or retreated, or knelt or stood up, all in line with the requirements.

From then on, King Wu knew that Sun Wuzhen could use troops.Later, King Wu appointed Sun Wu as a general, which helped him achieve the great cause of dominating the Central Plains.Sun Wu's career started in Wu State all his life, and he was buried in Wu State after his death. Later generations often refer to Sun Wu as "Wu people".

●Fuchai, the king of Wu, made the overlord
Both Wu and Yue are countries in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.Wu belonged to Jingman, and its capital was Gusu (in present-day Jiangsu); Yue belonged to the Yue nationality, and its capital was Kuaiji (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang).In the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, when Jin and Chu were fighting for hegemony, the state of Jin united with the state of Wu to deal with the state of Chu, and Wu's national power became stronger and stronger.In 506 BC, King Helu of Wu used Chu's late minister Wu Zixu and military strategist Sun Wu to lead an army against Chu. The Chu army was defeated and the Wu army went straight to Ying, the capital of Chu.At this time, Chu was rescued by Qin, and Yue State took advantage of false attacks to attack Wu's capital, and Wu was forced to withdraw its troops.

After Helu's death, his son Fucha succeeded him. In 494 BC, he conquered Yue and defeated Yue in Fujiao (now the west mountain of Dongting, Taihu Lake, Jiangsu Province).Goujian asked for peace and was willing to be a subsidiary state of Wu.

In 487 BC, the State of Wu built Hancheng (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu) in the north of the Yangtze River, opened Hangou, connected the Jianghuai River, transported food and troops, and defeated Qi soldiers in Ailing (now Tai'an, Shandong).In 482 BC, the state of Wu made an alliance with the monarchs of Jin and Lu and representatives of the emperor Zhou in Huangchi (now Fengqiu, Henan).At that time, King Goujian of Yue took the opportunity to attack Gusu, the capital of Wu State, Fu Chai gave up his hegemony to Jin Dinggong and returned to Wu State.This event is known as "Fu Chai let Pa".

●Take the courage to swallow Wu
Goujian was the monarch of Yue State at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period. According to legend, he was a descendant of Dayu.In 496 BC, King Yunchang of Yue died and was succeeded by his son Goujian.Wu Wanghe got the news and took the opportunity to send troops to attack Yue on a large scale. The Wu and Yue armies fought against Xieli.The Wu army was defeated, and the king of Wu was seriously injured and died soon after. His son Fu Chai succeeded to the throne.Before he died, He Jian once said to Fu Chai: "Don't forget the hatred of Yue!"

After Fu Chai succeeded to the throne, he did not forget his father's hatred, while rectifying internal affairs, training soldiers and horses, and expanding armaments.He also appointed someone to ask him every day: "Fu Chai, have you forgotten the revenge of the King of Yue who killed his father?"

When Gou Jian learned that Fu Chai was going to conquer Yue, he wanted to take the lead and destroy Wu with his troops.Advisors Fan Sha and Wen Zhong resolutely opposed it.But Goujian couldn't listen to it, so he led [-] troops to attack Wu.Fu Chai immediately led a counterattack with elite soldiers and generals, and the two armies fought fiercely in the area of ​​Taihu Lake.The Vietnamese army was defeated, and Gou Jian led the remnants of the defeated generals to besieged on Kuaiji Mountain and was surrounded by chasing troops led by Fu Chai.

Gou Jian thought hard and had no plan to retreat. Fan Li suggested to endure humiliation and seek peace.So Gou Jian sent Wen Zhong to the Wu army camp to meet Fu Chai and ask for peace.Fu Chai wanted to agree, but Wu Zixu strongly opposed it.After hearing the news, Gou Jian thought he had nowhere to go, so he prepared to fight Fu Chai to the death.Wen Zhong and Fan Li believed that another way should be found. They felt that Fu Chai was lustful and his powerful minister Bo Huo was greedy for money. This was the enemy's Achilles' heel, and the Yue Kingdom could use these to achieve peace.

Therefore, Wen Zhong secretly bribed Bo Pi, the doctor of the state of Wu, with beauties and treasures, and then went to see Fu Chai to ask for peace.Because Bo Pi was the first to accept beauties and treasures, he also helped.Fu Chai agreed to make peace, but he asked Gou Jian and Fan Li to serve in Wu State.

Gou Jian entrusted all state affairs to Wen Zhong, and then came to Wu State with his wife and Fan Li.Fu Chai sent people to build a simple stone house next to Hejian's tomb, drove Goujian, his wife and Fan Li into the house, made them wear sin clothes and skirts, and took care of the tomb and raised horses.Sometimes Fu Chai deliberately humiliated Gou Jian, asking him to lead a horse and follow him on foot when he went out; when he came back, he was asked to change his clothes, take off his boots, and even let him serve him when he went to the toilet.Gou Jian had no choice but to swallow his anger and hide his hatred deep in his heart.

Fu Chai, the king of Wu, admired Fan Zi's talent very much and planned to reuse him, but Fan Zi resolutely refused and served with Gou Jian for three full years.

According to legend, once Fu Chai, king of Wu, fell ill.After inquiring, Fan Li found out that this was a common disease, so he had a plan to ask Gou Jian to visit Fu Chai and taste his feces to test the cause of the disease, so as to please Fu Chai.Gou Jian acted according to the plan, and Fu Chai was very happy to see that Gou Jian could taste feces to test diseases.Soon, Fu Chai's illness really recovered. He was grateful to Gou Jian and immediately released him to return home.

After going through all kinds of hardships, Gou Jian finally returned to Yue State, determined to strive for strength and revenge.After returning to China, Gou Jian immediately set about rebuilding his homeland, and put Dr. Wen Zhong in charge of internal affairs, and Fan Zi in charge of foreign affairs and rectifying the army.I work hard and set an example.

Goujian was worried that he would forget his shame, so he slept on firewood every night and hung a gall on the door. Every time he ate the gall, he would lick the gall to keep his head clear and his spirit up.And whenever he was suffering, he would yell loudly: "Have you forgotten the shame of Kuaiji?"

For ten years, Gou Jian worked the land with his own hands, "no meat for food, no color for clothes", honored corporals, shared joys and sorrows with the people, and still endured humiliation and submission to the state of Wu, and contributed a lot of treasures every year.Because of Gou Jian's hard work, hard work, self-denial and dedication to public service, the country of Yue became stronger and stronger day by day.

At this time, Fu Chai became more and more arrogant and domineering because he became the overlord, and he only cared about his own enjoyment.Wen Zhong persuaded Gou Jian to pay tribute to the beautiful woman to King Wu, so he sent someone to find a stunning beauty named Xi Shi on Mount Zhuluo.Goujian sent Fan Li to dedicate Xishi to Fucha.Fu Chai saw that Xishi was outstanding in appearance, beautiful in country, and loved him so much, he became more and more addicted to wine and sex, and turned a blind eye to the government.The state of Wu gradually declined, and Wu Zixu was deeply worried about it.

In 484 B.C., Fu Chai, king of Wu, was going to attack the State of Qi. Wu Zixu persuaded him to attack Yue first, but Fu Chai refused to listen.The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty expressed their congratulations, but Wu Zixu was the only one who poured cold water on him.As a result, Fu Chai hated Wu Zixu very much, and Bo Pi slandered him behind his back. Finally, Fu Chai was so angry that he ordered Wu Zixu to commit suicide.Wu Zixu knew that Wu Zixu was in danger, so he smiled and said to the emissary, "After I die, take out my eyes and put them at the gate of the east city, so that I can see how Goujian came in." , to succeed Wu Zixu.

(End of this chapter)